Multimedia players are devices that render combinations of video, audio or data content (“multimedia presentations”) for consumption by users. Multimedia players such as DVD players currently do not provide for much, if any, user interactivity during play of video content—video content play is generally interrupted to receive user inputs other than play speed adjustments. For example, a user of a DVD player must generally stop the movie he is playing to return to a menu that includes options allowing him to select and receive features such as audio commentary, actor biographies, or games.
Interactive multimedia players are devices (such devices may include hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof) that render combinations of interactive content concurrently with traditional video, audio or data content (“interactive multimedia presentations”). Although any type of device may be an interactive multimedia player, devices such as optical media players (for example, DVD players), computers and other electronic devices are particularly well positioned to enable the creation of, and consumer demand for, commercially valuable interactive multimedia presentations because they provide access to large amounts of relatively inexpensive, portable data storage.
Interactive content is generally any user-selectable visible or audible object presentable alone or concurrently with other video, audio or data content. One kind of visible object is a graphical object, such as a circle, that may be used to identify and/or follow certain things within video content—people, cars, or buildings that appear in a movie, for example. One kind of audible object is a click sound played to indicate that the user has selected a visible object, such as the circle, using a device such as a remote control or a mouse. Other examples of interactive content include, but are not limited to, menus, captions, and animations.
To enhance investment in interactive multimedia players and interactive multimedia presentations, it is desirable to ensure accurate synchronization of the interactive content component of interactive multimedia presentations with the traditional video, audio or data content components of such presentations. Accurate synchronization generally prioritizes predictable and glitch-free play of the video, audio or data content components. For example, when a circle is presented around a car in a movie, the movie should generally not pause to wait for the circle to be drawn, and the circle should follow the car as it moves.
It will be appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all of the disadvantages of specific interactive multimedia presentation systems or aspects thereof.